MPF Conservation offers interior design and/or exhibit design for house museums or private clientele with antiquities. Both Mitchell and Kate Powell have extensive and varied strengths in the design industry.

Mitchell Powell has studied historic design for decades, knows period styles from his vast experience with historic furniture, and is an excellent designer for period appropriate design for exhibits, period house museums and other historical buildings.

Kate Powell has both practiced and taught interior design. She has a degree in architecture from University of Southern California, and was a core design instructor at University of California at Los Angeles for eight years before moving to Oregon.

Note: We do not generally do interior design per se, and consider this a specialty area under very specific conditions. We often work with interior designers or architects behind the scenes for their clients.

Superintendent’s Residence Design

A recent public project was the Superintendent’s Residence Design at Crater Lake National Park, shown above and below, which had a complete set of Imperial Monterey furnishings which MPFC conserved and restored as the basis for the design project.

The historic Superintendent’s house is now the Crater Lake Science and Learning Center, a working museum for scientists and students. Pieces procured had to be affordable and in keeping with the period, but, other than the Imperial furniture, were not authentic items from the era.

The dollars budgeted for the dinnerware, draperies, lamps, rugs and accessories was modest. MPFC found items to satisfy the design criteria + budget, without stepping outside the financial constraints of the National Park Service’s budget. Items procured and/or created included drapes, iron drapery rods, reproduction pieces, rugs, plates, runners, pillows (both for the furniture and floor pillows to sit on), throws, lamps, and accessories.

For more information visit our pages on Crater Lake’s Superintendent’s Residence. Examples of room and furnishings before and after shown below.

• Superintendent’s Residence (also the “new” Crater Lake Science and Learning Center)
• Superintendent’s Residence Design
• Superintendent’s Living Room
• Superintendent’s Dining Room

Beyond shopping, often period items need to be manufactured to fit within a historic environment. With our team of artisans, we can recreate a historic furnishing style for a modern need that fits a specific dimension or need. For instance. if you want:

• items for diminutive or tall persons
• new pieces for institutions who want a match for existing historic furniture to be used daily by employees, from conference tables to chairs to built-in cabinetry.

For inquiries, reach out to us through the listings below.